"I came across a multitude of scarecrows whose faces were shaped like African masks (...) mainly to frighten the monkeys so that they know that humans are not far away", said Hans Silvester after his encounter with the scarecrows.

After having photographed the paintings and body decorations of the Omo people, it is the first time that Hans Silvester shows us these expressionist images that animate these creatures of straw, clay and rags. The scarecrow was an innate culture that marked the cultivated areas of the countryside and is still practiced by the Benchs. Indeed, farmers make them according to an established tradition that allows for artistic spontaneity. In the fields, these postichous humans have the duty to discourage birds in order to preserve the crops. In addition to their mission of deterrence, the scarecrows have a symbolic charge to produce an abundant agriculture.

Retour De Voyage has selected this photo to illustrate the tradition of making them: a recycled support on which a frightening face is drawn, sometimes surrounded by straw or horn.